The present invention relates to efficiently growing potted plants in nurseries. In particular this invention relates to connecting a multitude of potted plants together in order to save large quantities of water when watering the plants. It also relates to saving money by reducing the amount of herbicides, plastic sheeting and other expensive measures that are normally needed to stop weeds from growing between pots.
The expression "container" is used to encompass the various types of planters in which plants may be grown whether they be called "pots", "planters", "containers", etc. and whether they are formed by terra cotta, clay, concrete, plastic, wood or other materials. While shapes of planting containers may vary, the present invention deals only with circular containers of various sizes.
Commercial nurseries must water a multitude of potted plants. To do this most efficiently, all the pots are normally grouped together and watered at once with an overhead watering system. Although this is quite expedient, it results in great amounts of lost water when round potters are used. In fact, about 20% of all the water falls in between and outside of the pots. This water promotes weed growth on the soil between the containers. Thus, the savings that accrue by this expedient watering method are then lost in the costs of combating the resulting weeds with herbicides or plastic sheeting placed underneath the pots.
Thereafter, inventors have created types of clips to keep the pots together during watering as well as irrigation systems that feed water directly into the pots.
In plant nurseries where it is common practice to plant and grow yearlings and plants in pots, it is common for the potted plants to be blown over in high winds. This is particularly the case with regard to palm trees which have a large leaf area ratio to pot size and weight of the plant and pot. When pots are blown over, not only does it damage the plants, but it is also a time-consuming procedure to right the pots and ensure that the amount of soil in the pot is still sufficient.
The prior art has proposed a number of devices for pots, pot covers and irrigation systems. Heretofore, such devices have either involved complex mechanisms in order to achieve their desired results or have been cumbersome to use and maintain. Even though these innovations may be suitable for the specific individual purposes to which they address, they differ from the present invention as hereinafter contrasted.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,220,745 for the Drip Irrigation Apparatus for Pots and Planters to John B. Elliott and John S. DeCell comprises a drip irrigation apparatus for a container holding soil and a plant. The apparatus includes a through access opening, preferably in the side of the container. A length of tubing extends from outside to inside the opening and an outside female adapter is secured on opposite ends of the length of tubing by threaded connections or by bonding. The adapters have larger diameters than the opening and a washer is placed on the length of tubing so that the opening is sealed against loss of soil. The inside and outside adapters each have an inside fitting that extends inwardly and outwardly in order to direct water to irrigate inside the containers. The inside flexible tubing at one end connects to the outside flexible tubing which connects to a water source at the other end. A male adapter can be substituted for one female adapter and the length of tubing.
This prior an patent differs from the present invention in that the prior art requires the use of special pots. Although this is acceptable for home or private use, commercial nurseries would have to continually re-pot the plants or sell these expensive special pots. If the consumer was not going to use the irrigation system, the gardener would also need a means for capping off the system. The time involved in connecting and disconnecting this irrigation system to the pots every time a new pot is brought in or sold is also very costly.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,184,421 for Locking Cover Pots to Stephen W. Meharg provides a pot which covers the dirt in a container and locks to the container to prevent scattering of the dirt or access by children or pets. The pot cover is a disk that is normally flat. The disk is split so it can be overlapped to cause the disk to become conical. The cover has water holes to allow adequate moistening of the soil. There is a hole in the cover for the stem of the plant, and the area surrounding the hole has easily removable rings to allow expansion of the hole. A skirt is attached to the cover, the skirt being adapted to be fixed to the pot. In one form, the skirt locks firmly around the perimeter of the pot. In another form, tabs on the skirt engage a lip of the pot.
The present invention is for watering pots in a commercial nursery whereas the prior an is for aid in growing plants in the residence. The cover is used to prevent spillage of the soil from the pot when accidentally knocked over or when the plant is watered. The present invention is not concerned with soil spillage, only with loss of water while watering the plant.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,157,869 for the Compound Separable Plant Pot to James D. Minton comprises a peripherally defined, truncated conic pot that provides two releasable, interconnected portions that are maintained by a cup-like bottom element. The interconnected pot portions each define substantially diametrical halves of the pot. They are joined by an overlapping seam which has complementary nubbin and indentation structures to aid releasable fastening. The adjacent surfaces of the pot and fastening cup have complementary nubbin and indentation fasteners to aid releasable fastening and positional maintenance of these elements. The pot structure is particularly adapted for formation by injection molding from plastic materials.
In the above prior art invention, the operator uses the invention in order to re-pot the plant from the pot it is currently in to one of a larger size with a minimum shock to the plant. The new invention is not concerned with changing pots, only with the most efficient means of watering them.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,056,198, Dean P. Viglione introduces the Planter Clip which is used to secure a plurality of potted plants together in order to prevent the pots from tipping over in high winds. The planter clip comprises an elongate middle section having a clip on both ends. The clips are secured to the top rims of the pots and one clip is used to secure two adjacent pots together in a spaced arrangement. It is possible to secure a plurality of pots in a spaced grid pattern by using a plurality of such clips.
The Viglione patent, as with the other patents referenced above, has no means in which to reduce the amount of water wasted while watering the potted plants. This prior art connects the pots by the use of clips thereby stopping the pots from being blown over due to wind or during watering but water still falls between the pots causing waste.